AT&T and MediaFLO have signed an agreement for AT&T to purchase MediaFLO’s 700 MHz licenses. The sales price is reported to be nearly $1.93 billion.
AT&T will use the new bandwidth to supplement its LTE data offerings starting in 2011.
iPhone/iPad users should be jumping for joy as this will help take the pressure off of the currently sssssslllllllllllllooooooowwwwwww data throughput that so many have complained about.
AT&T is feverishly deploying Distributed Antenna System (DAS) networks in large sports venues and shopping centers. Lately it has deployed DAS systems at:
Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (150 DAS nodes)
Boone Pickens Stadium (92 nodes)
Gallagher-Iba Arena (24 new nodes added to existing network)
Greenbrier Mall in Chesapeake, VA.
That’s COWs as in Cells on Wheels. I was digging through my collection of cell site photos and ran across a few I hadn’t posted from the October 2007 fires in Orange County. I’ve added a few photos of AT&T’s cow, and Nextel’s 20KW portable generator. The photos are in the celltowersites.com/gallery/ in the COWs section.
Click on the gallery link at the top of the page, or on the large picture above to visit the gallery.
Moo.
Jonathan
…none are.
Forrester Research has just released the first in a series of reports on “SmartPhones” concluding that so many mid-range phones now have smart features, it’s hard to define what a really smart phone is these days.
“All mobile handsets are becoming smarter and Internet-capable. Yesterday’s smart high-end phone is today’s midrange phone and tomorrow’s entry-level phone. The ‘smartphone’ category is no longer useful as all phones become smart.”
To redefine really smartphones in a smart-saturated handset marketplace, Forrester proposes a new trifecta to define future ‘real smarts’ in a cell phone handset:
1. Openness and extensibility; and
2. Consumption and creation; and
3. Utility and entertainment.
(No, I don’t know what those terms mean, either, but for US $749 you can purchase their report, released on May 15th, and find out. By the way, at 23 pages, your per-page cost is only $32.57…a bargin if the page count doesn’t include the table of contents; about the author; about Forrester; about etc.)
I propose labeling this blog as being 14G, which gives me a few years before someone proposes 15G, to which I must say, “Gee!”
-Jonathan
Several recent articles have appeared linking cell phone usage while driving (or merely walking on the streets) to a higher rate of traffic-related deaths.
In an article titled, “Danger of Cell Phone Use: While Walking Or Driving, Cell Phones Increase Traffic, Pedestrian Fatalities” published in Science Daily on March 8, 2009, several new studies about traffic deaths related to cell phone use are reviewed.
The “life-saving effect” occurred as the volume of phones grew into the early 1990s, and increasing numbers of cells were used to call 911 following accidents, leading to a drop in fatalities, explains Loeb. But this life-saving effect was canceled out once the numbers of phones reached a “critical mass” of about 100 million and the “life-taking effect” – increased accidents and fatalities — outweighed the benefits of quick access to 911 services, according to [Rutgers University, Newark, Economics Professor Peter D. ] Loeb.
Here is a link to the AAA Foundation’s December 2008 report.
Sobering stuff! It’s the ultimate early termination fee.
Yes, that’s your host imitating the sound you hear in an A.M. radio when your cell phone is on and is near the radio.
I was interviewed last year by O’Reilly Media’s James Turner. He has an Apple I-Phone which he’s not too happy with. He interviewed me regarding that buzzing you hear when you place a cell phone near a radio.
Look, I do a lot of interviews, and frankly, I forgot about my interview by James.
Recently while Googling my name (admit it…you do, too!), I ran across James’s article, which ran at the O’Rielly web site (this is the link).
The neat part of the interview, which also featured Jeff Rodman, CTO and co-founder of Polycom (you know them for their world famous ‘starfish’ business grade speakerphones), is that you listen to the entire 10 minute broadcast by clicking here (opens a new window to play an MP3).
Jonathan
J.D. Power and Associates has released their 2008 report on consumer satisfaction with wireless retail sales. It turns out that if you’re with Verizon or its newly purchased (consumed?) Alltel unit, then you’re
among the happiest customers. It’s another story altogether if you have Sprint Nextel.
But look closely at the scale: On the 1,000 point scale, Verizon/Alltel barely squeaked into the bottom of what would be called a “C” grade in school, and the industry averaged a high “D”.
Perhaps that why customers keep asking, “Can you hear me, now?” “Huh?”
So, while Verizon may take the trophy for best in show, it was the prettiest mutt amongst a bunch of really mangy critters.
Okay, there, I’ve created a post about the iPhone 3G. I guess I had to.
Alright, it’s great technology.
Yeah, it’s a hip device.
Sure, the new one is cheaper than the original, but isn’t that always the case?
Uh, huh, there are many new features (including what appears to be a very smart GPS integration).
Okay, so many I want one, and wish I weren’t happy being on Verizon’s network.
We’ll see how 3G AT&T’s 3G network really is. Maybe if it actually works under load I’ll breakdown and, ah, join the kids.
Maybe.
-Jonathan
Welcome to California. Now put down the cell phone when 
you’re driving. That law is now in effect here in the Golden State. No warning period; just get a ticket.
Now that this law is in effect, if you are in a fatal accident (with other than you being the fatality), you can be charged with Misdemeanor Manslaughter. That’s good for up to a year in jail, on top of everything else that will happen.
Think about safety when you’re driving and talking.
…speaking of which, the new law doesn’t prohibit you from DIALING or TEXTING while driving; only talking on a handset while driving. Those loopholes should be closed fairly quickly when the California Legislature comes back from recess.
Finally, if you’re under 18, don’t worry about what I wrote above. You’re prohibited from using a cell phone while driving, regardless of whether you’re using a handset OR a handsfree device.
Jonathan
Edge Wireless has been absorbed by AT&T Wireless when it purchased the outstanding 64% of the stock of the firm.
Edge was formed in 1999 by Wayne Perry (a member of the Board of Directors and a former Vice Chairman of of AT&T Wireless), Cal Cannon and Donnie Castleman (alums execs of McCaw Cellular).
Edge had a roaming agreement with Cingular (later AT&T Wireless). Lately, the large wireless carriers have been triggering buy-out provisions in the roaming agreements. Whether that’s the case here is unknown, but I rather suspect it.
Here’s AT&T’s PR puff regarding the completion of the transaction:
AT&T Completes Acquisition of Edge Wireless to Enhance Wireless Coverage
Transition to Begin in the Second Quarter; Customer Benefits Will Include Improved Network Coverage and Access to Innovative Products and Services
San Antonio, Texas, April 18, 2008
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today announced that the company has completed, through a subsidiary, the acquisition of Edge Wireless. Edge is a provider of wireless communications services in Oregon, northern California, Idaho and Wyoming.
The addition of Edge’s wireless network will allow AT&T to deliver broader wireless coverage to customers in the Northwest, including Edge’s existing subscribers. Edge customers will also gain access to AT&T’s portfolio of products and services, as well as to the nation’s largest voice and data network, which covers more than 290 million people.
The two companies have a long-standing relationship as roaming partners, and AT&T expects a smooth customer transition. AT&T will immediately begin to implement a carefully planned process to integrate the AT&T and Edge Wireless networks, combine product portfolios and merge customer care initiatives.
The acquisition of Edge Wireless follows review and approval by the Federal Communications Commission.